Winnipeg Free Press: Columnistshttp://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/columnists/d_ross
en-gbTue, 3 Mar 2015 15:03:11 CSTDancing with the enemy unlikelyBRANDON -- How do porcupines mate? Very carefully, and only when absolutely necessary.
It's an old joke, but an apt metaphor for discussions that will likely occur between NDP leadership candidates Steve Ashton, Theresa Oswald, Greg Selinger or their emissaries over the next several days.
Each...Fri, 27 Feb 2015 06:35:11 CSTNDP truce talks too little, too lateBrandon -- We may now have a better idea of what Gord Mackintosh was up to last week, when he announced he has been approached by representatives of Greg Selinger and Theresa Oswald to broker a truce between the two warring factions.
He told the media that "there are deeply held and dividedFri, 30 Jan 2015 07:56:34 CSTSelinger's lose-now, lose-later strategyBRANDON -- When former premier Gary Doer stepped down to become Canada's ambassador to the United States, he said that "if you ever get a chance in this job to go out on your own timing, you'd better take advantage of it."
He then added, "I think it's important that you go out on your own termsFri, 16 Jan 2015 07:36:49 CSTAshton's referendum a savvy ideaBRANDON -- His critics have slammed his plan as a flip-flop, but Steve Ashton's promise to hold a referendum regarding the controversial PST hike is a solid political strategy that has the potential to lift the NDP from its polling doldrums and cause problems for the Opposition ProgressiveFri, 2 Jan 2015 09:09:00 CSTA how-to on political suicideBRANDON -- Looking back at the developments of the past seven weeks, Manitobans can only wonder what the Gang of Five former cabinet ministers were thinking when they launched their cockamamie scheme to unseat Premier Greg Selinger as leader of the Manitoba New Democratic Party.
Their series ofFri, 12 Dec 2014 02:04:40 CSTRecall laws empower votersBRANDON -- For the past three weeks, Manitobans have watched helplessly as dissident members of the provincial New Democratic Party caucus and executive have conducted a campaign to oust Premier Greg Selinger as party leader and seize control of the province's government.
What began as rumblingsFri, 14 Nov 2014 07:35:09 CSTPallister must grab golden opportunityBRANDON -- A week from now, Progressive Conservative Leader Brian Pallister will deliver his party's alternative throne speech. Though it won't be his party's election platform, he says it will be "our vision of where we believe the province needs to go."
With a civil war being waged within theFri, 7 Nov 2014 07:42:18 CSTBrandonites to vote on trust?BRANDON -- In a campaign criticized for its lack of energy and ideas, it is the absence of one key electoral ingredient that has attracted the attention and concern of Brandon's voters.
The city's mayoral election is just five days away, but three of the four candidates -- incumbent Shari DecterFri, 17 Oct 2014 08:13:51 CDTBrandon election puts voters to sleepBRANDON -- When Brandonites awaken on Oct. 23, many could have good reason to wonder what happened to their civic election.
Six of Brandon's 10 city council wards have already been decided by acclamation and, of the remaining four wards, only one has more than two candidates. In the school boardFri, 10 Oct 2014 09:11:50 CDTBallooning police costs should be a ballot-box concernBRANDON -- It is the issue no mayoral or city council candidate wants to talk about, and yet it is the budgetary challenge that will most confound them should they be elected.
The exploding cost of policing is something municipalities throughout Canada are grappling with. Between 2001 and 2012,Fri, 26 Sep 2014 07:25:46 CDT